I have a question regarding the validity of show rankings and their value to an artist. Art Fair
Sourcebook and Sunshine Artist are probably the two largest and well-known of the organizations who provide rankings and my understanding is that they are both based on sales. That being the case, how can the two of them come up with such vastly different rankings for a particular show?
Just one of many examples is the Autumn - An Arts and Crafts Affair in Shakopee, MN. Sunshine Artist consistently ranks it in their top ten yet, AF Sourcebook has it somewhere around 230.
How can an artist ever place any faith in these rankings when they are so vastly different.
It seems like two people adding two plus two and getting two different answers.
Can anyone shed any light on why the above is the case. Are they not looking at the same numbers?
And, more importantly, should an artist ever pay very much attention to these rankings? If so, which one is to be believed? I get the impression that AF Sourcebook is much more popular with most artists and, perhaps should be.
I realize there are many factors to be considered in choosing a show in which to participate and rankings could be one of the lesser important ones. I'd just like to know how much weight other artists place in rankings and just how important are they when making your choice.
I've just subscribed to Sourcebook for the first time and perhaps I'm reading something wrong but I'm pretty sure I read the above example correctly.
Replies
Both AF Sourcebook and SA are only as good as the data they get in, if people don't fill out the cards how can you expect accurate results. I like Sourcebook better because it gives more data, returning artists, percent fine art, country craft, and the comments like parking is bad, promoter is a pain to work with etc. Larry think it was Rhodes Report and it only listed top 40 shows on 2 pieces of paper. Right now we are doing pottery and I have learned even if a show is great for another potter, it might bomb for me or vice versa, so things important to me are setup, hours, are there children's booths or loud music near where I would be, tangible things. Sales are all apples and oranges and even if reported, a lot of people lie about the results
Mike ... And how do you know that a lot of people lie?
Greg, I misspoke by saying a lot, I meant that I know several repeat offenders that will down play a show that they did well at to keep down on the competition
Mike, I have no doubt that there a re a few artists out there that will go the the trouble of sending in a false report. Based on the overall accuracy of the 'relative' numbers I arrive at for shows over the years, I think the false reports tend to average out across all the shows, so that the numbers I publish tend to at least be fairly predictive of the SIZE of the PIE, if not the exact actual average of what everyone did.
I can't go so far as to say people lie on the cards because. I have no idea. Here's my
take on the issue of sales numbers that are published. And, I know of nothing Sourcebook or SA could do about it because the only numbers they have are the ones they're given. My guess is that, when someone has a bad show, they're likely to not submit a card at all. Thus, the only numbers reported are the higher numbers sent in by those who had a good show and that distorts the numbers that are shown. Of the few people I've talked with regarding this issue, several of them have commented that their show was so bad they weren't even going to send the card in. If we could ever reach a point where everyone sends the card in, regardless of how bad or good the show was, the numbers would be a lot more accurate and helpful to all of us. We've all had a show or two in which we wouldn't be proud for anyone to see the results of our efforts but, that's the only way the numbers will ever be truly meaningful.
Don ... I appreciate your concerns about the reports. Here's what I know from over 20 years of collecting data. Contrary to what half of my potential subscribers think, I get at least half of my reports from unhappy campers, and contrary to the other half, a lot of exhibitors who have a great show send in their reports. Would I like to get more reports, of course. I'd love to see 100%! B ut just so you know, when I get 10% or more responding, the typical spread between the highest and lowest reported sales at a given show is about 10 to 1. That means that if the lowest report is for $500, typically the highest report will be right around $5,000. Not sure what else that means, but it most certainly means that I don't ONLY hear from the happy exhibitors. I get reports from people who have had their BEST SHOW EVER and their WORST show ever. That's not the problem. Actually, the lower the percent of folks reporting, the higher the concentration of unhappy exhibitors. Evidently, the complainers are usually more likely to report than the high sellers. The trick is to encourage as many exhibitors as possible to turn in a report so that there is a valid sample. I'm sure anything over 25% is a very good sample. I wish I could get that many at least from every show.
Keep this in mind. Commit it to memory: Sunshine Artist bases its rankings on sales numbers and sales numbers only.
And that based only on the audits that are received by the people who will take the time to fill them out. They don't take into account who is there, what is being sold, nothing.
I have seen so many people say they did a show that was ranked in the top 100 and was shocked! Shocked I tell you! To see B/S! Well, maybe those B/S merchants sent in the audit cards and pumped up the numbers. They complain about substandard work being sold. Again, maybe those 'substandard' artists made a lot of money.
Even Country Folk Art, which today is close to 90% Chinese stuff was once ranked as number 12 in the Top 100 craft shows. Why? Because when I did it, there were close to 30,000 people there and I made 10 grand, right next to the B/S merchants. And I sent in my audit card.
So when you see a SA ranking, please don't think it's something it's not. Because then we hear about how you were duped into doing such a lousy show because there were...GASP! Country crafts there!
To clear up little about Sunshine Artist's rankings: Audits and rankings are 2 different things. Audits are report cards passed out at many shows and filled in - or not - by the artists exhibiting there, and they ask about all aspects of the show. Audits can also be filled out online by anyone who wants to. SA compiles the audit info and uses it to write reviews in the monthly magazine and the annual Audit Book.
Rankings, printed in the Sept, issue every year, are based on questionnaires only sent out to subscribers of the mag. They are anonymous, and ask subscribers to rank their best 10 shows by sales only. Then these are divided into top 100 fine arts shows and top 100 crafts shows, and the size of the market is figured in along with the sales, so I guess a show in a big city should produce bigger sales than one in a smaller city to get the same ranking.
That said, I agree that your best sources are your fellow artists, but audits and rankings can alert you to shows that you might want to look into.
I'd recommend considering the source when evaluating the rankings. It may not be apparent to everyone out there, but Sunshine Artists is more heavily used by country and traditional crafters, not so much by fine artists and contemporary craftspersons. So that's who fills out their surveys (mostly). If you produce and sell contemporary work, I believe Art Fair SourceBook's rankings will more accurately predict where you are likely to do well at shows. But don't take my word for it, ask your friends and try out one of the top-ranked shows from Sunshine Artists that I've ranked much lower, and find out for yourself.
Greg Lawler --- Editor, Art Fair SourceBook
Greg, isn't it true that since you changed to a model that charges shows, that only shows that pay are given audit cards for their artists? I know I have not received them since the switch.
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